Michael Becker/FoxJermaine Jones, of Pine Hill in Camden County, impressed the judges enough that they decided to bring him back to the competition, where he's now made the cut as a top-13 contestant.

Jermaine Jones might stand out for his height — “6 foot 8 and a half ... and don’t take away my half,” as he told judge Randy Jackson — but that’s obvious.

In more than one promo picture for “American Idol,” he’s perched in the back row with his arms sitting on the shorter shoulders of his fellow contestants, or with his smile smushed between the tops of heads.

Those who know Jones better say both the uncommon nature of his deep voice and a certain quiet perseverance have taken him to this point.

Jones, 25, of Pine Hill in Camden County, is one of 13 contestants left on "American Idol."

And he almost wasn’t — he was eliminated from the lineup, only to be brought back by the judges as a “wild card” contestant.

His mother, Katrice Cornett, was in Los Angeles to watch him perform and snag a top spot.

“There’s not a word big enough for how proud I am,” she says. Cornett, 49, an office manager at Atlantic City High School, returned to work to find streamers on her door and balloons at her desk. And at Jones’ alma mater, Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, his name is on the school’s outdoor bulletin board.

“He’s been singing all over South Jersey his whole life,” Cornett says. “South Jersey is like that ... when they get behind something, they get behind it.”

They may have also gotten behind him in the votes, if Thursday’s results were any indication. While this season gives us two Jersey finalists, the last time anyone from the Garden State made it so far in “Idol” was Newark’s Anwar Robinson, who got to the top 7 in season four, in 2005. After that was Point Pleasant’s Antonella Barba, in 2007, making the top 16. That season’s winner, Jordin Sparks, spent part of her childhood in Ridgewood (Her father, Phillippi Sparks, was a cornerback for the Giants).

Cornett knows the second chance from the judges isn’t the only reason her son is where he is in the competition. He also just doesn’t quit.

The first and second time he tried out for “Idol,” she didn’t even know about it. This was his fourth attempt at securing a spot in the talent competition.

“You could always do better — that’s the kind of mom I am,” says Cornett, who also runs a gospel music group at Highest Praise Performing Arts Center in Atco, where Jermaine has served as an instructor since November.

As soon as Jones started to sing “Superstar” — another Vandross song — for his initial audition, judge Steven Tyler turned to fellow judge Jennifer Lopez with a knowing look. Sweat saturated Jones’ face, but he managed to impress, because in a competition filled with voices reaching for coveted high notes, Jones started deeper, lower and worked his baritone to his advantage, in a manner Tyler called “spiritual.” The judges dubbed him “the Gentle Giant.”

Though at 6-foot-4, Cary’s not short, height isn’t the only thing Jones has inherited from his grandfather.

“I started him singing,” says Cary, 78, a retired music teacher for the Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District in Salem County.

“We’re glad that the nation is getting the chance to hear his voice,” Cary says. “A voice like his only comes around once in a while.” He calls Jones’ vocal “a nice round sound,” one that also benefits from good projection. “His is the only voice — you can tell — that’s different from everybody else.”

He watched the “results” show, in which the final cut is revealed, on Thursday at Cornett’s house, while she was away in California.

“We were all elated,” Cary says. “Hit the roof.”

His wife, Colleen, prefers when Jermaine sings spiritual music, but is looking forward to this week’s performances in which the male contestants will perform Stevie Wonder songs.

“It has been really exciting, but on a roller coaster the whole time,” she says. “We’ll stand behind him whether he makes it or not.”

Jones also served as president of the youth division of the Marian Anderson Music Guild, the southern New Jersey branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians. He went on to study music at Westminster Choir College — part of Rider University in Princeton — before leaving to perform locally.

Sylvia Richardson co-founded the Gloucester County Children’s Choir with Cary. Standing at 5 feet, she always considered Jones pretty tall, long before he was making Ryan Seacrest look shrimpy.

“I have a picture of him and I think he was always the tallest one,” Richardson says. His voice may have found its home in South Jersey, but she can also see it on a New York stage.

“I just envision him being on Broadway doing some great musical,” she says. “He has a very, very fine, rich bass voice, but he has quite a range.”

"American Idol" airs 8 p.m. Wednesday on Fox. The results show is Thursday.